When Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome was first announced, it was as a 10-part online web series.  But upon the cancellation of Caprica, Syfy announced that it would be coming to broadcast as a 2-hour backdoor pilot for a potential TV series.  Now, it seems, Syfy is second-guessing that decision.

According to AOL TV, Mark Stern has seen a rough cut of the production, and is still weighing the decision of whether to air it as a TV-movie or a web series.  While this comes as a bit of unexpected news to me, it’s not a shock, because there are many reasons to believe that the numbers simply wouldn’t be there to sustain a TV production.  The numbers for Battlestar Galactica were never wonderful, and they continually sunk as the series went on.  The numbers for Caprica were absolutely abysmal, possibly indicating some franchise fatigue.

Especially when Live + 7 numbers are all that counts for TV-broadcasting, Syfy may be able to expand their market power by using a per-view model for each 5-10 minute online episode.  (Science fiction fans are notorious for DVR viewing, online viewing, and doing all the wrong things to get their shows canceled.)

In addition to all of the aforementioned factors, the way for premium web content is being paved by upcoming productions like H+, and certainly, if any show could last several seasons on the internet, it would be a Battlestar Galactica show.  The only downside I could see to this is that a season on the internet would be smaller than a typical trial-run of 13 episodes for a season of TV, but I could see them expanding a second online season for Blood & Chrome well beyond just another two-hours.

I daresay, this could be the jump-start that the mainstream web series genre needs!  Very exciting stuff!

What do you think?  Would you like to see Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome as a web series?

SyFy are working on a new Battlestar Galactica spin-off that will explore the story of a young William “Husker” Adama during the Cylon war. Chicago Tribune report that “Blood & Chrome” will be an online series. While the project hasn’t been set in stone just yet, it’s thought that B&C will have 3D elements.

“Blood & Chrome” is “about a young man’s initiation into war: both the realities of war as fought by soldiers on the ground (and in Battlestars and Vipers), and the somewhat less real version portrayed in the media,” according to Taylor.

“Blood & Chrome” would consist of nine or 10 episodes of nine or 10 minutes each, and it would make use of cutting-edge digital technology and special effects to depict the Cylon War. If it is greenlit to production, it will be filmed using green screens and virtual sets, not unlike Syfy’s “Sanctuary” or James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Before “Battlestar Galactica” ended, high-tech scans were made of all the show’s sets, so that the special-effects team will be able to re-create them (possibly even in 3D).

Taylor also had this to say on the potential scope of the series:

“I’ve seen the virtual, 3D version of CIC ['Battlestar's' Combat Information Center] and it’s pretty damn cool,” Taylor said. ”And yet the movie isn’t confined to Galactica. Far from it. It’s a story that will take us to new corners of the ‘Battlestar’ world (or worlds), and yet it aims to be a very contemporary war movie in a lot of ways. I would say I’m thinking as much of Afghanistan and Iraq–the reality of ‘Hurt Locker,’ Sebastian Junger’s ‘Restrepo,’ and similar movies–as I am about about the largely implied past of ‘Battlestar.’”

If Blood & Chrome were to prove successful, more could follow. There’s even talk that the series could be the gateway to a TV pilot, depending on the level of its success.

What do you think? Have you seen enough Battlestar Galactica to last a lifetime, or would you be happy for more? Personally, I would welcome ‘Battlestar’ in online format. It’s something different from the norm, and it would be interesting to see if the story would translate to the even smaller screen.